Wreck It Ralph: The making of Jack Silvagni and how he’s found his own place at Carlton

Some thought Jobe Watson would be a father-son bust before he emerged as an Essendon star. Jack Silvagni is following a similar trajectory, writes Jon Ralph.

Jack Silvagni takes a spectacular mark over Isaac Quaynor. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Jack Silvagni isn’t the only high-profile father-son to bear the slings and arrows of the impossible task of living up to his famous father’s reputation.

But he might be the first to have his club publicly sack his list-manager father because of the conflict of interest with him and brother Ben.

The son of Steve, and grandson of Serge, might have struggled to make it to an AFL club had he not borne that famous pedigree, but it sure hasn’t helped him since the club drafted him at pick 53 in the 2015 national draft.

For Denis Pagan, who eventually left North Melbourne after a rift started with senior figures over playing his son Ryan, the only way for Silvagni was out.

“If I was Jack Silvagni I would get out. He can’t win at Carlton,” Pagan told the Herald Sun in 2019.

“SOS can’t win, Jack can’t win and (then-coach) Brendon Bolton can’t win.”

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Jack Silvagni points to the sky in memory of grandfather Serge after kicking a goal on Sunday. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Silvagni takes a spectacular mark over Isaac Quaynor. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Steve Silvagni was moved on months later, as Carlton cited the “increasing complexity” of having the “most senior list management member unable to participate” in discussions around his kids Ben and Jack.

Last year, Jack played only three games amid rib, knee and leg issues, then three times in the first eight rounds of 2021 he was subbed out of contests with serious shoulder issues and a concussion against the Bulldogs.

Yet somehow through it all, Silvagni has not only endured, but thrived.

The crowning moment was a day laden with emotion on Sunday after the passing of grandfather and club legend Serge this week.

In one of the moments of the season, his salute to grandfather Serge then torrent of tears post-match provided the emotional touchstone.

The substance was another contest full of telling interventions using old fashioned footy nous instead of pure athleticism and gut-running gifts.

He will never be the Koutoufides prototype, but just as he did in his two-goal, nine score-involvement effort against Fremantle a fortnight before, he made Carlton a better side.

It wasn’t a bad day for dad either, as players he had helped draft, or trade, for including Liam Stocker, Paddy Dow, Tom de Koning, Jack Martin and Matt Kennedy helped the Blues power past arch rival Collingwood.

Stephen, Serge and Jack Silvagni in 2015. Picture: David Caird.

On Thursday, Carlton’s list management group will meet and consider Silvagni’s future, among other agenda items.

How many zeros to add to Sam Walsh’s contract offer, for instance, with four seasons and $4 million to get him through to free agency for a 2023-27 deal surely about right.

But what is now certain is they will offer Silvagni a contract extension that will be brokered by his manager Tom Petroro.

The two parties will have to haggle on terms, and tenure, but 23-year-old Silvagni isn’t going anywhere.

What few fans would know is that not only had Silvagni been battling that shoulder injury that required a Round 4 clean-up, both hips are also causing trouble and he will need post-season surgery.

Like Essendon father-son Jobe Watson, who took his time to make it into elite junior programs and eventually transformed his body when all seemed lost, the hope and expectation is that Silvagni’s best football is still ahead of him.

Especially as a mid-sized forward who, with better ball movement and Charlie Curnow alongside him next year, can secure a mismatch on the third opposition defender.

Jack Silvagni is consoled by teammate Tom De Koning after the final siren on Sunday. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

As son of a gun Travis Cloke told News Corp on Monday, Carlton is exactly where he is meant to be.

“Look at his build compared to his old man’s build. They aren’t massive men but we saw him sit on someone’s head and he turns around and kicks a torp to Eddie Betts inside 50,” Cloke said.

“He has the skills and attributes not a lot of players do and it’s what Carlton supporters love. How good is it to see him with the No. 1 on his back? He is an exceptional young man doing great things with the world at his feet.

“I feel sorry for Ben (two years at Carlton for no games) who had the expectations on him to be the young son of Steven, but to see him back enjoying his footy at the Northern Bullants is great to see.”

Cloke says growing up in the footsteps of a star father has its perks, but many drawbacks, after dad David played 333 games with Richmond and Collingwood then sired AFL regulars Jason, Cameron and Travis.

“We live the dreams of what our parents have done,” he said.

“I grew up with it, but the downside is social media and mainstream media.

“I am sitting here now with a nine-month-old son and a four-year-old daughter and people are already asking me when they are going to start football and are they going to be the next superstar of the game?

“My parents let me do what I pleased and were so supportive and let us play so many sports, but the world will be a different place in 15 years, I almost want to hide my kids away from it completely because of the social media pressure and the anxiety for these kids now.”

For Jack, there has been nowhere to hide at one of footy’s most impatient clubs with a fanbase desperate for signs a barren era might be over.

For so long, he has known only the downside of fame, and yet finally, as with his football club, he might be turning the corner.

Originally published as Wreck It Ralph: The making of Jack Silvagni and how he’s found his own place at Carlton